TEHRAN, July 17 (ICANA) – The US and Israel are trying to divide the Syrian nation and government by sparking tension in the Arab state through hiring Saudi and Lebanese March 14 forces, a senior Iraqi analyst warned on Saturday.

Sunday, July 17, 2011 2:12:56 PM

"The US and Israel are hiring and leading a number of regional forces like (the Lebanese) March 14 and Saudis to show Damascus insecure by creating unrests," Head of the Center for the Southern Iraq Studies and Professor of London University Ali Ramazan al-Ousi told FNA.

Al-Ousi also blasted certain regional-religious streams like the Wahhabies and also the Saudi government for preventing establishment of Islamic governments in the region through following the US-Zionist policies in the region.

Earlier, the Iranian foreign ministry in a statement had warned that the US and the Zionist regime of Israel have hatched plots to create a rift among the Syrian people.

The ministry said in a statement that the wave of unrest that has swept across Syria in recent weeks is a plot by Washington and Tel Aviv to undermine the country's national solidarity and sovereignty.

The ministry also called on both the people and the government in Syria not to lose sight of their national reform plans in the face of enemy plots to undermine their efforts.

"The Syrian leadership and nation's reform effort in the framework of the county's national interests is an important responsibility. By practicing moderation in both voicing and addressing demands, a grand victory for Syria can be achieved," read the statement.

The statement also said that Syria's 60-year opposition to the Israeli oppression of the Lebanese and Palestinians is the main reason why the nation has become a target of Western plots.